The number of outbreaks fell by more than 40 percent in France in 2020, largely because of COVID-19 measures, according to new numbers from the French public health agency.
Overall, 1,010 outbreaks were declared in 2020 affecting 6,814 people. Of these, 396 went to hospitals and nine died. Officials are compiling outbreak numbers for 2021.
In 2020, outbreaks went down by 43 percent from 1,783 in 2019 when 15,641 people were sickened, according to Sante publique France.
The drop in outbreaks is greater for those linked to commercial and catering settings but can be seen, to a lesser extent, for domestic outbreaks. The decrease is more marked during times of lockdown because of the pandemic but can also be noted outside these periods when social distancing measures, working from home and closure of restaurants were in place.
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